Fully Falafelled: Pittas & Powerslides in PalestineWhilst volunteering with SkatePal in the summer of 2014, we, as skateboarders, of course took the chance to explore the streets of Palestine & Israel. This film documents the adventures we had.

This is generally how I ended up at the last two downhill skateboarding/longboarding events in Durban, South Africa: They are organised in a few weeks, one of the organisers, Greg Parry from Peg Skateboards out of Durban messages me to come down with promises of an epic location, I speak to the right people, and next thing I know I am on a plane to Durban for the inaugural and opening event for the MAMBA snake-run at the Eden Village Park in Salt Rock, Kwa-Zulu Natal.

I go onto Youtube and search for any videos of the track and I come cross the one made by local Durban skater Troy O’ Sullivan who also helped with consultation on how track should be built from a downhill skateboarder’s perspective. I watched his video and thought this one should be easy, similar to an event in Durban a few months ago at the Giba Gorge BMX/Mountain Bike pump-track. What the video did not do was give a proper reflection of the actual gradient of the snake-run as he was using a pole-mounted camera.

Surprise surprise… it was crazy!

I flew in on the Friday afternoon and Greg drove me straight to the track. I purposefully did not skate or cycle much in the week leading up to the event as I knew it will require all the leg reserves I could muster. I soon realised that it also needed a few days of riding it to get used to the feel of it.

You can’t not go fast. As much as you tried to hold back by shifting your weight to the back of the board, every corner still saw you boosting out of it picking up speed. It’s the kind of track where all your senses are being worked the whole way down, from the first set of humps, into the high walls of the right-and-left s-bend, sweeping straight into the big right-hand hairpin into a tight left wall down into the rabbit hole with a small straight, all in anticipation for the final left corner, THE WALL, which saw some people completely overcook it, me especially, and end up in the landing bags over the edge.

There were 18 participants in total and after 2 rounds out of 4 I finished with a 10th place overall. My first run saw me fall thrice and sitting in last place, so I knew the pressure was on for my next few runs.

The locals dominated the event and we were all stoked to see some of the guys like Troy who helped with building the track come out as the winner with a 32-second winning time, with local 15yr old Lungelo Mntambo coming in a close 2nd and Bradley Stevens 3rd.

Thank you so much to Peg Skateboards and Red Bull South Africa for hosting such a rad event and personally thank you to Red Bull South Africa, Revolution Skateboard Supply Co., Globe Shoes, Triple 8 protective gear, Kryptonics wheels and Peg Skateboards for making it possible for me to make the trip. A special thank you to old school South African vert
skating legend Eben Combrinck, who headed up the construction of the MAMBA snakerun.

We Are Blood is a modern day skate epic featuring Paul Rodriguez and other top skateboarders as they travel the globe pushing the limits of what’s possible on a board and four wheels while celebrating the unconditional bond created by the simple act of skateboarding. Directed by Ty Evans, We Are Blood is filmed using state-of-the-art cameras to creatively capture the most cutting-edge, progressive skating experience imaginable. Produced by Mountain Dew Green Label Films in association with Brain Farm, We Are Blood will debut worldwide August 2015.

THE LAKE is a new FREE bi monthly publication which is available nationwide at selected outlets. It takes a more in depth look into the minds of individual thinkers and creatives. We want to focus on the people who make South Africa one of the most creative countries in the world today. Our aim is to create popular culture rather than to follow it. Making a platform for the multiple talents and individuality of young and old across the cultural fabric of our diverse society.

Darkstar’s Dave Bachinsky has just burst into the limelight with an incredible part, and now an interview on Thrasher Magazine. Click the image above to read the full interview.

So you’ve got this Darkstar part. You’ve got a new board sponsor. Tell me a little bit about how that evolved since the demise of Think skateboards which was about two years ago. Where have you been since then?I was kinda talking around. I had a lot of offers throughout and I was waiting for something to really dial in. I was down in Oceanside. OC ramps had everyone together and Greg Lutzka and Ryan Decenzo were, like, “Dude, you should talk to Chet. We’ve been talking about you.” And I was, like, “Really? I’ll have a word with him.” So two weeks later I just reached out, just seeing what his thoughts were and he was down to get something going. I was so hyped for that after, like, two years of not being in a van or being a part of team thing where you’re just getting out and about. I’m psyched to just get in a van and go charge around. So starting at the beginning of this year, I’ve just been filming for a part. We’ve got the whole VX video and it’s been insane. We’ve gone through, like, four cameras. Shit sucks. But yeah, I’m psyched we finally finished. I’ve been out filming, trying to do as much as I can with that.

The Skateboarding for Hope community outreach programme has received a significant boost with global apparel company Vans signing up as presenting partner for its year-long programme. As part of the run-up to the Kimberley Diamond Cup skateboarding world championships presented by Kumba Iron Ore in October, the Skateboarding for Hope road show will travel the country to introduce the youth of South Africa to the sport of skateboarding.

The Skateboarding for Hope road show is a youth development initiative launched by the Northern Cape Provincial Government four years ago to promote skateboarding as an affordable and accessible leisure activity. The tour itinerary for 2015 includes fifteen Skateboarding for Hope activations around the country from bustling urban skate parks in Johannesburg to deep rural towns in the Northern Cape.

According to Tim McFerran from World Skateboarding Grand Prix, the global leader in skateboarding event management, they are very excited about Vans’ support of the Skateboarding for Hope initiatives throughout South Africa. “Their support will be invaluable in growing these events nationally and moving them to the next level. Vans play a prominent role in the skateboarding community in South Africa and we are delighted in the joint commitment to the development of skateboarding in this country. This initiative is very important to both the Kimberley Diamond Cup and the Northern Cape as it forms part of our aggressive approach to youth development and providing our youth access to skateboarding. This is also a great community service as it provides fun events for the kids to engage them in a meaningful way and teaches them skateboarding and life skills. The programme also gains access to marginalised youth, a vital part of our local communities that is often overlooked,” mentions McFerran.

Since 2011, the Skateboarding for Hope community outreach initiative has hosted more than 500 activations and handed out more than 5000 skateboards to youth at risk and underprivileged kids. During the first part of 2014, the programme touched the lives of more than 18000 youth throughout South Africa. The nationwide tour creates enormous exposure for skateboarding and also provides young skaters with the opportunity to grow and improve their skills. In addition, it also promotes tourism to the Northern Cape and creates awareness of the numerous skate parks that have been built in the province.

According to Vans marketing manager Warren Talbot, “Vans is committed to skateboarding, but more importantly, we are committed to developing skateboarding in South Africa. It is a privilege to be a partner of Skateboarding for Hope as we continue to build and support the KDC tour 2015,” states Talbot.